a late 30's Dutchy, Stumbling through life, (sometimes quite literally)

Friday, September 20, 2013

Hazy

We recently had a horrible horrible haze
here in South East Asia, caused by Forest Burning in Indonesia. which got me to
go through my eye drops like there was no- tomorrow.. .in fact I went through
more eye drops in that one week then I had done in the months since being here.

Now, I hadn’t been able to find the drops I
use here in Malaysia, but luckily a Malaysian friend of mine who was visiting
the UK was able to bring me back a batch as back-up

However, it got me talking about Lens and
Eye care routines...

I use these drops when my eyes are
irritated whilst wearing my contacts.

There are of course other options out
there, which I have tried aswell, (blink, the brand I use do actually sell
bottles, but not the vials I use… which gives me much better portion control as
such) and so I keep coming back to
these... another issue is that the products I use for lens care aren’t as easy
to get here in Malaysia.. so I’m at the mercy of others with getting them willing
enough to bring some back from the UK... and so far they actually are….

Maybe I should adapt and start using the
products I can find here, but its tricky, as you might appreciate Eyes are sensitive,
and once you have something that works for you and keeps your eyes “calm” its
best to stick with it..

For instance, the daily lens cleaner I use
is free from preservatives and basically makes my contacts feel cool and
clean.. Just like they came out of a refreshing cool shower... and the other ones
I used I find them oily, and "filmy" it might be just me, but hey...
i have to wear them i guess.. so whatever works for me right???

Another instance is as well, that in my
case we are talking RGP (Rigid/ “Hard”) lenses, and most regular products you
find in shops here are for soft lenses, so sometimes its about looking a bit
further as well

"Regard K is the world’s first preservative free
multipurpose solution for rigid (hard) contact lenses. It’s also one of only
two preservation free solutions on the market today - the other is 3% Hydrogen
Peroxide.
Regard RGP K offers a high level of disinfectant that ensures all debris, dirt,
grit and impurities are removed from gas permeable lenses without damaging the
surface. You can expect to experience a high level of comfort from Regard RGP K
solution, as its preservative free formula is more eye friendly, especially for
those who suffer from sensitive eyes, as the preservatives in traditional
solutions are known to cause irritation."

"Menicon Progent - is a weekly protein remover,
disinfectant and intensive cleaner compatible with all RGP contact lenses. To
ensure excellent comfort and prolong the life of your RGP lenses it is recommended
to remove proteins with Menicon Progent weekly, Menicon Progent is a solution
particularly recommended for cleaning and removing proteins from the surface of
the lens by simply soaking them in the mixture for only 30 minutes
periodically. The efficacy of Menicon Progent lies in its strong, rapid action
against all the organisms likely to contaminate lenses, including bacteria,
moulds, yeasts, viruses and Ancanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts."

"Blink contacts vials are eye drops that help you
capture the feeling of a natural tear by using a preservative free formula to
create a smooth and soothing protective shield on the eye that provides a
long-lasting comfort.
Blink Contacts eye drops can be used by both soft and rigid-gas permeable (RGP)
wearers.
Each pack contains 20 convenient sized vials that you can keep in your handbag,
at work, or even in your gym bag. Each vial contains a dose of 0.35mls."

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"Looking up gives light, although at first it makes you dizzy." – Rumi

Yeah, well...... although I’m pretty sure Rumi meant something very deep with this, I’m afraid for me it’s in fact, less metaphorical, and more physical….

In early 2012 I got diagnosed with Keratoconus, (often abbreviated to "KC") a degenerative eye disorder in which the normally “ping pong ball” shaped eyeball reshapes the front of the eye into a “rugby ball shape”, via corneal thinning.

This results in significant visual impairment like distortion, multiple images, streaking, ghosting and sensitivity to light and many other issues.

Unfortunately, It took a while to get this diagnosed and here I’m hoping to let you in on all the stuff leading up to finally finding out what’s wrong, and how my life changed because of it.. the good, the bad, and all the other stuff that life throws at you… with or without Keratoconus.

Why? well, I hit a stage where things went a bit dark, both visually and mentally and my Doctor advised me to write it "out of my system" , which I did, but then when things went better, I sort of left it at that.

Until, quite recently, I had a conversation with a friend (apparently a frequent blogger herself) about blogging, and after mulling it over I figured resurrecting an old blog space I had used many years ago, might not be a bad thing, as you never know who else is looking to find out about life with KC...

Whereas, when I got diagnosed, I found a lot of factual information, but not necessarily what living with KC is...

now, be ware that of course my story is only one of many, i experience things different then fellow KC-ers, sometimes more severe than others, sometimes less... This is me with KC.

*Please be aware that the timeline on this is going to be slightly out of whack on occasions, as i'm basically re-telling my situation from months ago, bringing it upto date step by step...